Ahh - but the Queenslanders have still given us Clive Palmer. :)

Mum parents are physically in Clive Palmer's electorate and voted for the crazy billionaire. Throw in the senate seat he's also won in Queensland and possible senate seats in WA and Tasmania and the Canetoad oppression will only strengthen due to his balance of power position in the upper house.

Oh and if we're talking Queensland oppression, can I remind you that we won the EIGHTH straight series win of the state of origin.

Mum parents = My parents. I'm just so excited and carried away with Big Clive!

For those of you outside of Australia I don't think there is any comparison. The guy is a mining magnate but has diversified into hotels and leisure. Doesn't sound crazy does it? Until I mention he's littered his golf courses with life-size cinematronic DINOSAURS (!!) and he's building a new cruise liner: the TITANTIC II (I kid you not, an exact replicata of the original). And if that's not crazy enough he's just started legal proceedings against Rupert Murdoch and in the process said the only reason he divorced his wife was because she was a secret agent from the Chinese Government.

Australian politics has just ratcheted the fun level up a notch or two.

his Titanic II is an exact replica didn't even think to improve on it. Turning circle but I guess will have satalight mapping and mod cons for safety...

Nah, the dinosaurs on board will be sent out to smash any icebergs in the way.

The sad thing is that I knew who Clive Palmer was, and being from Texas he has never seemed that oddly behaved for a billionaire. But of course, a billionaire built a full replica of The Forbidden City about 5 miles from my house when I was a kid. Then there was the guy who had secretly built a NATO caliber nuclear bomb shelter 10 stories below his suburban office building for 200 people. It was discovered when he died and how houses all of United Airlines back up servers. Then of course, my hometown produced Howard Hughes, Jr.

@gopher. Where's the Forbidden City replica? I've been to the real one and wouldn't mind comparing it.

Is this it? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_Gardens. Says its only a 1:20 scale. Clive does 20 times better than that. We have big hatted politicians too (like Texans) - check out the other maverick Queenslander, Bob Katter. His hat would make many a Texan proud: http://images.canberratimes.com.au/2012/06/30/3418622/mp-artleadwide-katter-20120630205903421131-420x0.jpg

And an extra special one for gopher: a scene from the Australian parliament: http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2011/06/22/1226080/166897-party-games-katter-hats.jpg

Texas politics is too entertaining to be done proper justice in this forum. My state senator makes the Daily Mail of London.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2396586/Texas-political-candidate-creates-website-CAT-GIFs-mock-opponent-s-lack-leadership-night-state-s-abortion-filibuster.html

http://www.dewfeed.com/

I believe that Dan is literally the most right wing member of the Texas State Legislature. Think for a moment about what that implies.

Wouldn't building a 1:20 scale Titanic replica be vastly weirder than a full size one? You really need to stop and think about your estimation of billionaire weirdness. One could live in a full sized Forbidden City. One cane sell tickets on a full sized Titanic replica. A Titanic replica that was sized so as to make people sailing on it impossible would be much purer an expression of "crazy rich old coot"-ishness.

I would say yolo to that

I like your thinking gopher. But you knew that already.

I like Dan's style, except the whole explaining politics with cats meme was done here 2 years ago. A few of my favourites:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yFcoAYkKME
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSdc1yz2Lh0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IxOGWLzNoI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93Dsgp0ocIs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FfxmeALhTM

Oh, and other Queensland politicians make the Daily Mail too gopher. Check this out: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2386676/Australian-MP-Peter-Dowling-quits-sexting-pictures-penis-glass-red-wine.html